Waterworld
by CrazyMihn
Summary: "I've had bad days before. There are those days where a few wee things go southwards, you kick a bulkhead, swear loudly in a public causeway, and proceed to endure the strange stares from your crewmates for the rest of the day." Then there's the really bad days. A retelling of Subnautica's story in a log-entry format. Style inspired by 'The Martian' by Andy Weir.
1. Chapter 1

**Log Entry - Day 1**

I've had bad days before. There are those days where a few wee things go southwards, you kick a bulkhead, swear loudly in a public causeway, and proceed to endure the strange stares from your crewmates for the rest of the day.

Then there's the days where things migrate southwards so fucking fast that you're left wondering what crimes you committed in a prior life to land you in this situation. Today is one of those days.

I…I should probably start over.

My name is Ryley Robinson. I'm a low-ranking crewmember serving aboard the Alterran starship _Aurora_. By low ranking, I mean my primary job is to make sure that all the toilets are stocked with mandatory two-ply toilet paper; that the air vents are unclogged and clean; and that the shipboard fabricators don't suddenly start spewing miscellaneous garbage when a higher-ranking crewmember tries to reconstitute a nutrient block. Such is the life of a non-essential systems maintenance engineer. However, I _am_ overqualified for the position. Let me explain:

I've always wanted to go to space. I grew up watching digitised files of ancient sci-fi television programs from Earth. _Star Trek_, _Farscape, Stargate, Battlestar Galactica, The Orville, The Expanse…_I watched a lot of that old stuff. My only dream as a child was to head out among the stars, and explore strange new worlds, just like Captain Kirk or Ed Mercer. My grades in school weren't stellar though, and I ended up working as a paperwork clerk in the Alterran Tax Office for almost five years. Then, six years ago, my parents were killed when their shuttle exploded due to a engine malfunction. They left me quite a large sum of credits, which I used to put myself through expensive digi-training courses. As a result, I ended up with a impressive list of qualifications.

I'm proficient in mechanical, electrical and software engineering. I've got training in the fields of xenobiology and chemistry, although those aren't my primary fields of experience. I'm able to treat most common injuries, thanks to the extensive first aid courses I downloaded right into my cerebellum. I can speak Mongolian as fluently as I speak English. I even slapped on a course in survival training, although I doubted I'd ever need it.

But, there are even more qualified people than me working for Alterra. Most of my former crewmates aboard the _Aurora_ were qualified in a much narrower range of skills, but had much greater depth of experience within their respective fields. They'd have to be, seeing as the ship is the flagship of the Alterran Fleet. I also had other issues that blocked me from shipboard service. My interpersonal and leadership ratings from the company's HR surveys barely qualified me for service aboard even a garbage scow. I did manage to call in a few big favours, which managed to land me a role aboard the Aurora…as the lowest ranked member of the crew. As non-essential systems maintenance chief; I had the luxury of being in command of myself and ten cleaning robots that were my underlings. The job was lousy, and the pay was lousier.

But, I was finally in space! I was finally living my childhood dreams, and that was enough for me. What I didn't expect was to end up inside a flaming lifepod, stranded on a watery planet with no one else around.

It had been a normal day for me. I had been assigned by CTO Yu to perform some minor repairs to the Lifepod Access Corridor lighting grid. As it turned out, the lightbulb needed replacing. I was halfway through swapping out the bulb when the entire ship shook violently. I was thrown from my stepladder, and to the floor. The lights began to flicker, and I heard the abandon ship alarm begin to go off. The floor began to pitch upwards as the ship's superstructure began to groan in a alarming manner. I made a beeline for the nearest escape pod, leaving my toolkit behind on the floor. Donning a standard-issue survival suit from a nearby locker, I opened up the access hatch of the pod, and slid down the ladder. Quickly strapping myself into one of the two seats, I hit the launch control. The pod ejected, just as the entire section I had just been standing in exploded behind the rapidly falling pod.

I don't remember much after that. I recall that a access panel for the secondary systems was jarred free of its housings, and began to bang into the walls of the pod as the craft streaked towards the surface of the planet below. Then, it must have hit me on the head and knocked my out. When I came to, the pod had landed…and was currently on fire.

The fire was easy enough to put out, thanks to the extinguisher standard to every lifepod. The floatation devices had activated, meaning that I was either in a faulty lifepod, or that we had made a water landing. Popping open the top hatch, I emerged to find myself standing above a vast ocean, stretching in all directions. To my east, the flaming wreckage of the Aurora sent plumes of smoke into the midmorning sky. The pod gently bobbed on the surface of the ocean, with no sign of any other survivors in sight. I proceeded to curse violently for the next half hour.

So, I've now calmed down, and have started to record this log. Hopefully, if Alterra or anyone else comes across this; it'll shed light as to what happened here on this world. I've taken inventory of the lifepod's supplies. I've got enough food and water for two days, and I've got two emergency distress flares. The medical kit fabricator is still functional, and the primary survival fabricator is functioning normally. However, the secondary systems (including air scrubbers, short range scanning equipment, and the water reclamation equipment) are fried. I've also got no radio, and I've got no tools to fix any of the damaged gear. In addition, my blueprint database has been corrupted, and thus I'll need to reconstruct the lost information.

My only equipment is my survival suit, this PDA (which annoyingly has locked itself into survival mode, meaning that- at least for the time being- I have no access to my extensive technical and entertainment library) and a pair of distress flares. I've got no long-range communications gear, meaning I can't contact Alterra HQ. If my fabricator breaks, I have no way of fixing it or even building more equipment. I'm so screwed that even a fastened wingnut would call me screwed.

It's getting dark now, and I'm not sure if I want to try exploring the immediate area till tomorrow. I'm going to sleep now.

**Log Entry – Day 2**

Things are looking slightly more optimistic now. Day two started with a swig of water from one of my two bottles, and a quarter of a nutrient block. Then, I began to explore.

The area of ocean I've landed in is quite shallow. There's not much predatory life, and there's a amazing degree of biodiversity. This appears to be a coral reef, although the life here is very different to any I've seen before. The predominant species of small fish seems to be a slender, coral-eating animal I've called a 'Boomerang', due to its distinctive shape. I managed to catch a couple, and return to the lifepod. Using the fabricator, I cooked and consumed the fish. It was…unusual. I've never eaten real meat before; only the soy-based, vat-grown substitutes. I didn't suffer any ill effects, and it seems the meat is edible. I also discovered a filter-feeder I named a 'Bladderfish' that I can use to filter the seawater to make drinkable water. So, I now have a means of obtaining food and water. That's step one on my survival checklist. However, I can't afford to simply gather fish and my first priority is to construct a permanent habitat. That means gathering building materials.

Thankfully, this reef also had significant deposits of titanium ore, contained inside fragile sandstone deposits. There's also large amounts of debris from the Aurora's outer hull that I managed to salvage to create more titanium. With my newfound wealth of metal, I've managed to fabricate a oxygen tank to extend my underwater operations. What I need next is materials to make batteries. I've found some copper ore, but I need something acidic. I'll mull it over this evening. Tonight's meal? Roasted Bladderfish. Let's hope it's not as bad as it smells…

**Log Entry – Day 3**

So, I've encountered my first monster on this world. It's…unusual, to say the least.

I spend the morning gathering some resources from the seabed, mainly quartz and salt. I used some of the salt I found to cure some boomerangs, so I now have some preserved foodstuff. The quartz will be useful for fabricating glass, which I can use for a number of applications. I also found some of these strange, one-eyed fish I've started calling 'Peepers'. They're about the size of my hand, and are quite evasive. So far, I haven't been able to capture more than a couple, due to their slippery nature. Damm things are nearly impossible to catch.

So, I decided to explore some of the natural caves that have formed in the local rock formations. I found a large amount of quartz and ore down there; but the most striking feature was the fish that popped right out of a bulb shaped plant, swam right up to my face, and exploded.

Damm thing seared the upper layer of my flesh right off, and left a nasty gash across my cheek. Thankfully, it wasn't all that powerful. I think it's probably some sort of defence mechanism…but that's one fucked up defence mechanism if so! Fortunately, I found some powdery sulphur in the plant the "Crashfish" left behind. Gathering up the sulphur, I headed back to my lifepod to get some medical attention, and to get a meal.

On the way back, I found some peculiar mushrooms, that seemed to be leaking some sort of acid into the water. Using some nearby rocks to prod the centre of the plant, I watched as a puff of acidic juice caused the tip of the rock to swiftly disintegrate. I managed to snag a couple after some experimentation, and brought them back to the lifepod. The analysis computer on the fabricator seems to think I can use their acid to create batteries. So, I put the copper I found earlier into the fabricator along with two of the mushrooms; and voila! I now have a functional battery! Things are finally looking like they're going my way.

**Log Entry – Day 4**

Progress!

So, I managed to create another three batteries with the copper I had stored. I've got no way to charge them right now, but I can now build a maximum of four battery powered tools. My first priority was fixing the lifepod, and thankfully that cave sulphur came in handy when creating a repair tool. Soon enough, the air scrubbers were removing the smoke-scented air, the lights were powering up to full, and the lifepod was sending a environmental report to my PDA. Unfortunately, I couldn't fix the water reclaimer. I've salvaged the parts, and I think I can rig up some sort of condensation or distillation setup to make clean water. I can't rely solely on Bladderfish, and I'd honestly prefer my water to not taste vaguely like a cross between a old sock and a rotting salmon. However, I've done something far more important: fixed the radio.

Unfortunately, it seems the transmitter ariel snapped off during landing, or has otherwise detached itself from the exterior of the lifepod. Unless I can find it, I can't fix the transmitter, and thus cannot call for help. However, I do have a functional receiver, and I've already picked up a couple of distress beacons from other lifepods. I can't get to them right now, but at least I know some other people made it to the surface. Either that, or they made it down, and they're now dead. Which is a terrible thought, but something I need to consider.

However, my PDA has also reported increasing radiation levels coming from the _Aurora's _reactor core. It must have sustained damage, either during impact or due to whatever caused the ship to go down. If the core melts down…I could be looking at both a nuclear explosion, as well as a potential ecological disaster. If there's a nuclear explosion, I might not be outside the blast radius. That's not good. If there's no nuclear explosion, but there's radiation released…there's a chance that the ecosystem could be ruined by radioactive fallout…and if that happens, there goes my food supply. If both happen…well, I won't have to worry about the sudden lack of food. I…I should probably not think about that.

On a more positive note, I've also managed to create a scanner tool! So, I've begun tracking down bits of damaged tech from the aurora to begin salvaging to restore my corrupted blueprint database. So far, I've managed to reconstruct the blueprints for the 'grav-trap', which I remember from my brief EVA training course that was mandatory for all starship personnel. These ball-shaped units are designed to stay in-place, and catch any loose tools or parts while conducting EVA repairs. Fortunately, they're also pretty handy for catching fish that swim nearby. Thus, I have a pair of grav traps catching me my daily supply of fish. Unfortunately, the concentration of fish has also attracted a new variety of predator to the locale. I've called it a 'Stalker', and I believe that it's migrated over from the nearby kelp forest I spotted earlier. They're a shark-like animal, with crocodile-like jaws, and a blue-grey skin. They appear to be moderately intelligent, and I've seen them hunting in packs. Those kelp forests will require exploration in the near future.

I've already begun looking for materials to start fabricating a habitat builder. Those machines are a little more complicated than a repair tool or a flashlight, so I'll need to find materials to manufacture microchips. I've already found a source of suitable silicon in the coral shell plates dotted around the shallows; but I'll need to track down a supply of silver for wiring kits, as well as some gold for the relay contacts. I can't find any deposits of gold in the immediate area, so I'll search in the kelp forests tomorrow.

**Log Entry – Day 5**

A lot happened today…some good, some bad.

First off, I now have a habitat! I mean, it's really just a cylindrical corridor unit with a fabricator and a couple of storage cabinets, but it's a start! I was right, and the 'Creepvine Forests' did in fact have gold and silver in large quantities. The Stalkers also seem to live primarily around there, and I got nipped a bit by their teeth. I didn't get hurt _too_ badly, but I soon figured out that it probably wasn't a good idea to go too close to them. I also discovered that the kelp is edible, although it decomposes fast after being separated from it's parent plant. However, the kelp is fibrous enough to be turned into a woven mesh that I've started using as blankets and pillows. Thank god for those knitting classes I took in High School.

Now for the bad news. The _Aurora_'s dark matter core blew up today, and while it thankfully wasn't a full-on nuclear detonation…it did blow the entire front half of the ship off. Hopefully, I'll be able to head in at some point and salvage her, now that there's a front door…so to speak. I really hope no one was aboard when she blew. Regardless, there is also now a one kilometre wide zone of radiation around the _Aurora_, although the density of the water after that reduces the radiation to decidedly nonlethal levels. I do have the blueprint for the standard radiation suit, which I'll need to head in and repair the leak.

I still haven't received any communications from a rescue party, and the only transmissions I've received have been pre-recorded distress messages. I haven't seen any other survivors yet, and I'm sure that at least someone would have come this way at some point. I'm beginning to think I'm alone on this world.

Tonight, I'm sleeping in the even more cramped confines of my new habitat. If I have to sleep another day in a pod reeking of burnt plastic, I think it won't be the planet that kills me.

**Log Entry – Day 7**

So, I haven't made a entry for the past two days, and yes: I have a reason for that.

First off, the minor occurrences: I've obtained a source of rubber from the Creepvine plant's seeds; which also seem to be adequate for manufacturing lubricant. This aided me in constructing a seaglide personal transport device, so I've now extended my effective operational range considerably. It won't get me to the _Aurora_ though, which is annoying for obvious reasons; i.e. fixing the goddamm reactor leaks.

I managed to cobble together a basic distillation unit from the scrap that was the more advanced lifepod condenser. The old unit built into the lifepod was far more advanced than what I've currently assembled; capable of extracting water from either a aquatic environment or the atmosphere. The electronic components were beyond repair, by the virtue of having been blown apart when the access panel was launched from its mounting and into my cranium. Even the repair tool- bless its computerised diagnosis circuits- couldn't fix the goddam thing once broke. Thankfully, Alterran technology hasn't moved past the age-old concept of pipes and holding tanks, and thus I was able to scavenge the mechanical bits. Using some copper wire rigged up to the pod's power cells (and a handy on/off switch to conserve power), I can now boil seawater to make drinkable water, and also collect salt at the same time. I know the _Aurora_ was carrying more advanced units (leftovers from her old days as a colony ship, before her refurbishment and restoration), which hopefully survived the crash in a state that I can scan blueprints off. This arrangement of tubes and scrap metal leaks like a sieve, is a hazard to my continued health (let's just say that electricity, water, and knees don't really mix), and could break at any given moment; taking my lifeboat with it. For the want of a fuse breaker, I guess…

I also managed to make a knife, which is a achievement in it's own right. I'd been meaning to do so since I started exploring, but I couldn't track down any materials to produce rubber for the grip. I attempted hacking the blueprint to remove the knife's rubberised grip, but failed. Miserably.

Alterra is already tetchy about unlicensed blueprint modification, but they get especially anal about messing with weapons. Including a fucking survival knife. Thank you Alterra. Your infinite wisdom- and fear of another PR disaster like the unfortunate incident on Obraxis Prime- meant I needed to make several dangerous trips to the Creepvine Forest to collect the glowing seedpods of the Creepvine plants, and bring them back to my fabricator to turn into rubber. I could have just, y'know, built the knife from only metal…but apparently you need to make my life even _more_ difficult.

My point is that a knife is a survivor's best friend, at least according to my previously-unnecessary survival training. It can fend off predators, be used as a digging implement, prepare food, be used as a tool…it's the most useful item in a survivor's inventory. Although, it's still not a escape vessel. Or a distress radio. Or a even a bloody mattress. I swear, those floors have given my bruises their own bruises.

Anyway, I digress. So, that was the end of Day Six. My priority on Day Seven was to try and find some way of reaching the crash site (namely a Prawn Suit or a Seamoth, of which the _Aurora_ carried a large complement), as well as track down some lead deposits for fabricating my radiation suit. I then came across something very interesting: while searching for any other surviving salvage (which I found to be a exercise in futility), I came across a half-buried pod lying in the sand. Digging it out, I looked it over. It was a bulky cylinder, around the size of a small duffel bag. One end was fitted with a domed nosecone, while the other had the broken remains of what looked like a handle. The plasteel exterior was pitted with scars, and corroded quite badly. A quick scan with my scanner revealed it to be a time capsule commonly found aboard escape vessels, or alternatively used as a black box. The _Aurora_ wasn't carrying any in its inventory as far as I know, and this one looked like it had been buried here for years. I was beginning to run out of oxygen at that point, so I began making my way to the surface; bringing the capsule with me. Heading back to the safety of my habitat, I attempted to open the thing up. The time capsule was fitted with a electronic deadbolt, and it seemed to still be sealed tight. The capsule wasn't powered however, and the battery compartment was fused shut. So, using an advanced engineering tool (a acid mushroom), I deliberately weakened the exterior casing of the time capsule, and proceeded to use a couple of other advanced tools (a large chunk of rock and the pommel of my survival knife) to "carefully" remove the outer casing. Once a adequate section of the locking mechanism was exposed, I then manually disengaged the bolts, and carefully pried open the corroded hatch with the blade of my knife.

Inside was a memory card, a folded photograph, and some kind of metal object. Setting aside the ring and the card for the moment, I unfolded the photograph. I'd never seen a real photo before, outside of old Earth TV shows and movies. It was heavily creased, and was yellowed with age. It depicted a pair of smiling men, wearing bulky fight jumpsuits of Mongolian style. One of the men was significantly older than the other, and was seated in a hoverchair. At his feet was a young boy, wearing a tee-shirt and pants. Both men and the boy were strikingly simular in their features, and looked to be close relatives. Behind them was a viewport looking out over a ringed gas giant, the planet looming behind. I flipped the picture over, and found a message written in neat block print:

_The Torgal boys: Saul, Paul, and little Bart. _

I'd never heard of anyone called 'Torgal' before. The name sounded familiar, but no matter how hard I tried to remember, I couldn't quite recall where I'd heard the name. I put the picture to one side, and looked through the rest of the pod's contents. The strange metal apparatus looked to be a antique quartz timepiece, the sort that people used to wear back before the diaspora. The steel casing was scratched and dented, but when I held it to my ear, I could hear it still ticking away. The watch appeared to have been modified to run off interstellar standard time, rather than the antique 24-hour time measurement that was used back on Earth. I set it next to the photograph, and picked up the last object. The data card was of a older design, and was at least a decade out of date. A cursory scan with my scanner tool told me that the card's data matrix was still mostly intact. Using my PDA, I downloaded the stored information off the card. It's safe to say there was a lot on there. Environmental scans, mapping data…hell, there was even a blueprint for a experimental hydroponic growbed that looked to be far ahead of anything I'd seen in my studies. It was all accompanied by a plaintext file, which I proceeded to read. It said:

_I don't know if anyone will ever come across this. Father's been missing for weeks, and Maida's probably dead. Certainly, I'll be long dead before anyone manages to read this. I hope that this information will come in handy to a future survivor. Whoever you are, don't give up hope. Don't stop trying to get off this rock. – Bart Torgal, sole survivor of the Degasi crew_

_P.S. Whoever you are, please: bring the contents of this pod to my mother, if you can track her down. She's one of the board members of Torgal Corp, in Mongolian space. Her name's Lana Torgal. Please, tell her that I love her, and that I hope I'll see her again someday. _

It took me a while to process the implications of the letter. There had been other people here before me, and they'd arrived at least ten years prior to my arrival. It took me even longer to stop shaking. What could have killed them? What could be lurking on this planet? Will I suffer the same fate?

It's getting dark now, and I'm going to spend the night trying to track down some way to get to the Aurora faster. I need to accelerate my timetable. I am _not_ about to spend ten years on a watery hellhole like this one. I am going to fucking survive.

**_Author's Note: Hello, patrons! I have been silent for quite a while, but I'm back with a new story…which you've read now if you're reading this. Otherwise, you skipped the entire thing, and therefore gotten me really annoyed. But, I'll assume you read the entire first chapter, and thus have linearly progressed to this note at the end. _**

**_Firstly, I'm sorry to report that my two oldest stories- 'The Depths of the Night', and 'Borderlands: The Post Sequel' appear to have been taken down by the Fanfiction mods. I assume that they were removed to free up server space, but since they haven't told me anything, I'm left with nothing but conjecture. I apologise to anyone who happened to be a "fan" of those two shitfests, but I'm actually kinda glad that they're gone. They were definitely not my best stories, and they certainly weren't all that good. _**

**_Secondly, Outbound Hopes chapter 16 will be out sometime next year- hopefully. I need some time to read back through the previous chapters, and figure out where I left off. A year of inactivity will do some weird shit with your approach to a story, and I want to make sure that I make chapter 16 a great instalment in the story. _**

**_So, next year is- I hope- going to be one where I pick up my pen again fully, and begin writing as normal. I have been writing over at Library of the Damned the last little while, so I haven't been completely absent from the fanfiction scene. For those unaware, Library of the Damned is a fanfiction MST site which I guest riff on. I'd recommend checking it out, as there's over 2000 humorous critiques of bad fanfiction on there to go through, and a great community to participate in. _**

**_Here's to 2020, folks! May it be a productive year!_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Log Entry – Day 8**

Today started off _real_ well. If this recording somehow glitched, and my sarcasm wasn't conveyed right…yeah, that was sarcastic.

After a breakfast consisting of a freshly caught Boomerang, I set out for the local Creepvine forest to pick up some more seed pods. My current priority is to extend the distance I can travel on a single tank of air, so that I can find more resources and more salvage. Thus, I need some flippers, and I need rubber for those. I managed to grab a sizable number of Creepvine seeds, but was unfortunate enough to run into a couple of Stalkers. I panicked, and instead of swimming away _really_ fast, I instead pulled my knife and tried to fight. I managed to get one of theme, but the other put a hole the size of a coffee mug through my left thigh. I managed to limp away after distracting the last shark with a nearby Peeper. Once in the lifepod, I immediately grabbed a medkit from the dedicated fabricator, sat on the floor with my back against the bulkhead, and began patching myself up.

Now, Medkits created via fabricator are very limited. They consist of a couple of single-use vials of antibiotic/painkiller mix, some medicated self-binding bandage wraps, and a small disposable injector for the drugs. That's it. So, when I have a massive hole through my leg, there's not much I can do with that assortment.

Thankfully, the wound wasn't all that deep. The tooth had penetrated the upper and lower layers of the skin, and had sunk about a quarter of the way to the bone, but had snapped off when I struggled free. The blood had already clotted around the sides of the broken tooth, creating a decent seal that was stopping more blood from pouring out. I loaded one of the vials into the injector, which consisted of a white polymer grip with a hole at the top for a vial, with a trigger for the spring-loaded needle build into the side of the handle. Pressing the tip of the injector against my upper thigh, I squeezed my eyes shut, and depressed the trigger. The needle shot into my leg, delivering a concentrated dosage of painkillers and antibiotics. Suddenly, I felt a warm fuzz spread through the flesh under my skin, the pain from the hole in my leg just seeming to drain away. However, that was only half the standard dosage. Reloading the injector with the second vial, I again injected myself, before dropping the injector on the floor beside me. I then grabbed the bandages, thinking back to mandatory first-aid training. Resisting the urge to tense up, I quickly yanked the broken tooth from the wound, and pressed firmly down on the affected area with my left hand while I fumbled with my right hand for the self-binding bandage. Grabbing it, I unfolded the padded wrap, and slid it under my leg. Blood dribbled out from underneath my left hand while I did so, pooling on the floor.

"Check arrows on backing," I recited to myself, my voice shaking slightly. "Place red inner lining under leg. Slip leading edge through clip. Pull the safety tab and-"

That was the point where the bandage's memory fibre innards pulled themselves tight, and began to heat up. There was a brief burst of pain as the bandage cut into the wound, overwhelming the effect of the painkillers. Acting like old-fashioned shrink-wrap, the bandage quickly moulded around the wound, the padded innards sponging their medicinal payload into the wound. The wrap slowly relaxed, now sealed tightly around the wound, and keeping me from bleeding out. I let out a deep breath, and slumped against the wall.

The rest of the day was spent resting in the lifepod. Eventually, I swam back down to my habitat, where I ate the rest of the first nutrient block. Right now, I'm cold, damp, and the painkillers are beginning to wear off. The bandage has some numbing agents soaked into the lining, but they're doing a shit job so far of keeping my head clear. My near death experience has at least given me a lesson: if something here is trying to kill me, it's not worth fighting it. Tomorrow, I'll try and restrict myself to lightweight activities, namely giving my tiny habitat some more walking space. Then, it's back to the search for materials…Y'know? Make that two days "off". I think I've earned it.

**Log Entry – Day 10**

I have got myself a Seamoth!

I finally managed to track down the last piece of the metaphorical puzzle in my search for a means of extending my operational range. My big issue so far is that with the way things were, I wasn't able to reach the _Aurora_ with my puny Seaglide. So, I had been looking in the Safe Shallows and the Creepvine Forests for any components for a larger mode of transportation. It turns out I'd been looking in the wrong place.

I made my first foray to a sandy area scattered with a red grass-like plant. I'm calling it the 'Grassy Plataeu'. Anyway, I was thrilled to find plenty of large wrecks scattered around the place, including Seamoth wreckage. The Seamoth was originally designed for underwater usage, but was later modified for usage in space. The Aurora carried around two dozen of them for use as construction vehicles, and it's pretty clear that the explosion scattered a large number of wrecks around this particular area.

During my recent two-day "vacation", I tracked down the blueprint for the Mobile Vehicle Bay, which required some salvage of some of the largely intact segments of the Aurora's outer hull and compartments that had separated from the ship on the way down. I also managed to find some of the components of a laser cutter, which I'll probably need to get through the Aurora wreck.

So, with the help of some titanium, a power cell, and a few other components, I managed to get myself a functional mini-sub! The range on the sub is enough to get me pretty much anywhere I like, although the sub's recommended operational depth only goes down to 200 meters. If I want to go lower, I'm either going to have to track down a prawn suit, or I'm going to have to get some depth modules for my new best friend.

Other than that, I've assembled the radiation suit I'll need to survive in the irradiated area surrounding the crash site. My next priority is to track down the last components of the tools I'll need to successfully make my way through the ship. I'll need to finish the blueprint for a laser cutter, and I'll need a propulsion cannon, in case I need to clear any debris from my path. For now, I'm going to spend another evening watching fish swim past the porthole of my seabase's hatch. Sweet dreams.

**Log Entry – Day 13**

I…I…I just…I just…give me a moment.

[Heavy Breathing]

OK…so, I'd finished the blueprints I needed, assembled the gear, and packed some provisions in the form of bottled water and some salted Peepers. I loaded my gear into my Seamoth, and departed for the Aurora. I made it as far as the port hull when I ran into a fucking…a fucking…I don't know what!

It was about the length of a cargo freighter; with four blade-like claws around it's mouth, and four beady eyes which seemed as cold and dead as space. I didn't know it was there until I heard a earthshaking roar from behind my Seamoth, and spun the vehicle around. Just in time for it to use those four massive claws to grip my Seamoth in front of it's gaping mouth, and attempt to pull me in. Alarms began blaring on my touchscreen display; and small cracks began spreading from the edges of the canopy, where two of the beast's claws had begun squeezing down with enough force to puncture the roof of the cockpit. Water began seeping in, and the…thing…stretched it's jaw wide as if to swallow my sub whole. Wrenching the controls back and forth, I managed to struggle out of the thing's grasp, upon which I turned and ran right towards my seabase. By this time, water had filled the cabin to waist height, and the engine was beginning to sputter and die. Eventually, the Seamoth's drive failed completely, and I was forced to surface. Venting the ballast tanks, and activating the bilge pumps, I rose through the clear water to the surface. Bobbing gently beside my lifepod, waiting for the beast to catch up to me, I evaluated my options. If I'd led this creature to my base of operations, it could ruin any chance of my survival. My fastest means of escape were crippled. The bulk of my equipment was stored in a cabinet in my seabase. My vehicle constructor would only slow down any escape efforts I made. I would be stuck without any fabrication equipment on a hostile world, and without any shelter.

Thankfully, it never came to that. The creature had obviously discontinued the chase sometime after I left the immediate vicinity, and eventually I exited the vehicle to examine the damage. The Seamoth's drive motor was holed on the bottom, the primary and secondary power feeds leading to the drive damaged badly. While it was fixable, it would push my timetable back considerably. I needed to get inside that ship before something worse happened, such as further expansion of the radiation zone.

I managed to patch the hull of my submarine, although I'm going to have to leave the power conduits till tomorrow. For now, I'm trying my best to think of how I can get the fabricator to make a bigger knife.

**Log Entry – Day 16**

Ok! So, I've made it to the _Aurora_ this time! Let's recap:

So, following my misadventure with the creature I've decided to name a "Reaper Leviathan"- given its leviathan-class size, and the fact that it is a ungodly creature of death- I repaired my gear, replaced the power cell, and set out for the crash site again. This time, I was more careful with my approach, and whatever I did seemed to work, since that thing was nowhere to be seen the entire time. Entering the skeletal remains of the ship's bow, I "beached" my Seamoth on a mostly intact section of deck plating, and entered the ship. The damage was immense. I couldn't see any bodies anywhere, and there was no sign of any survivors, but there were fires everywhere, and piles of debris scattered around the entire area. There were also these…things…crawling around. They resembled a flat disc with a mouth on the bottom, with four crab-like legs sticking out from the corners. They had no obvious eyes or sensory organs, but they knew exactly where I was. I managed to fend the newly-named "Cave Crawlers" off with the butt of a fire extinguisher I'd taken with me, and after a few whacks with a titanium cylinder, the damm things backed off. My PDA helpfully informed me at this point that their stomach linings contained residue of human tissue. Lots of human tissue. Ignoring the unfortunate implications of that factoid for the time being, I located a ramp leading down into what was once the _Aurora_'s research facilities.

The corridor section was mostly intact, and even had some functioning emergency lighting. However, the plasteel walls were scorched black, and much of the forward half of the section had been melted and twisted out of shape. Putting out a fire at the bottom of the ramp, I slipped into the water at the bottom, and began to make my way through the former lab facilities. The way ahead was blocked off by rubble and damaged lab equipment, but there was a access door to my left that had a functioning keypad. Using my maintenance access code to open up the door, I found myself in one of the few dozen multipurpose laboratories put aside for the use of the ship's science division. The lab was mostly intact, with the exception of some girders that had punched through the bulkhead to my right. Although most of the terminals were non-functional, I managed to find a active console that still had some useful data on it. My PDA reported that it had successfully reconstituted the blueprint for the Repulsion Cannon, a modified variant of the propulsion cannon I currently had in my possession. The other end of the lab had a access door that thankfully emerged on the other side of the blockage that had prevented my passage earlier.

I managed to cut open a sealed door with my laser cutter, and found myself in a access corridor for the ship's battery array. Emerging into the cavernous space, I found that at least a few of the massive battery units were still operational, and providing emergency power to the ship's systems. This section also contained the access terminal for the ship's black box flight recorder. Swimming over, I downloaded the black box data for later examination, and headed up through a damaged portion of the ceiling into another engineering space that I couldn't identify due to damage. It was flooded halfway to the ceiling, but there was thankfully a access corridor with another hole leading to a engineering space, potentially a section of the ship's water recycling system. The space was a tangle of broken pipes and damaged cables, but I managed to get through it without snagging anything. I emerged into the ship's PRAWN suit bay, upon which I grinned behind my helmet's faceplate. Hanging from the roof, and stored in the bays near the back of the room were multiple damaged PRAWN suits.

The Pressure Reactive Armoured Waterproof Nano Suit is one of the coolest things the _Aurora_ carried with her. These mecha-like vehicles were designed for heavy-duty EVA usage, as well as use in underwater, volcanic, or otherwise hostile environments. They were thus perfect for the _Aurora_'s intended mission, since the construction of a phasegate requires a lot of EVA work with "heavy" objects that could easily crush a unarmoured construction worker if left untethered. Unfortunately for me, none of the units in the bay were operational. The ones in the bays at the back of the room were either smashed to pieces, spewing sparks from their joints, or even on fire; and the units hanging from the roof were barely intact. However, I managed to scan enough fragments to reconstitute a blueprint for a future suit of my own. There was still the officer's quarters on the deck above the Prawn Bay to go through, but I resolved to explore that on a future expedition. The door leading to the access corridor for the Dark Matter reactor was broken, but a quick fix with my repair tool had the door sliding open within seconds. I entered into a darkened corridor, lit only by the light of a few sparking lighting panels.

After putting out a few fires that blocked my path with my extinguisher, I emerged into the flooded remains of what was once the Dark Matter drive core. The room was mostly intact, albeit flooded halfway to the ceiling, and littered with debris. The four reactor towers were still upright, although the walkways surrounding them had suffered damage. My PDA's short-range scans indicated that the majority of the reactor shielding breaches were below the waterline, so I quickly slipped into the water. Immediately, something sharp pierced the skin of my left arm, causing a brief surge of pain. Looking over, I saw what looked to be a tick the size of my forearm latched onto the outside of my radiation suit. The thing's mandibles had pierced the self=sealing surface of the suit, and I could see a transparent stomach bag filling up with my blood. Bashing the newly titled "Bleeder" with the butt of my repair tool's handle, I popped open the fragile parasite, leaving it floating in the water, dead. Looking around, I saw many more creatures floating in the water, their translucent skins making them hard to spot. They appeared to be waiting for me to swim closer so that they could latch on without expending too much effort. My faceplate's biometric display indicated I hadn't lost too much blood, and these things seemed reasonably fragile. Thus, I began fixing the breaches to the reactor. There's not much to recount at this point about the repair process. My repair tool did most of the work, the slender, prong-tipped device reorganising the molecules of the damaged sections of the shielding back into their undamaged state. A few of the other Bleeders tried to feed on my blood, but were quickly dispatched with my Repair tool. Eventually, I finished my work, and swam over to a ladder leading back up onto the platform that I'd entered onto. Then I left the room, the breaches sealed, and the threat diminished for now.

I took a different route on the way back, heading through the locker facilities for the section of the ship I was in. After cutting open the damaged hatch, I swum into the flooded space, which was filled with floating debris and loose personal effects. Briefly ducking up into a air pocket above the water, I then swam over to my own locker, and opened it up. Most of the contents were smashed to pieces, although my personal toiletries bag was still there. Picking it up, I added it to my dive pack's contents, and moved through to the next section. Emerging into a cargo elevator leading to one of the ship's storage bays, I swam over to the inactive elevator, and climbed up onto the slanted track that the elevator used to move between the lower level and the cargo bay. Walking up the ramp, I found much of the bay on fire. My extinguisher was fully depleted at this point, so there wasn't much I could do about the fires other than move carefully around them, and find alternate paths when the fire blocked my way. After that, it wasn't all that hard getting out of the ship. I cleared some debris with my propulsion cannon, used a intact fire extinguisher in one of the office-section hallways to put out the fire blocking the exit, and then it was a matter of traversing some twisted sections of debris to climb back down to the "beach" that I'd parked my Seamoth on. Pushing my sub out to sea, I climbed inside, and zipped back to my seabase.

So, the net result of all of this was that I've cleared a path through the _Aurora_ for future salvage; I've fixed the leaks on the reactor core, which my PDA informs me has caused the radiation levels around the crash site to begin falling; and I've managed to get some minor salvage out of the areas I cleared. Among them is a proper toothbrush (I've so far been using the lacklustre method of gargling with some condensed water every morning, and using a toothpick-sized shard of plastic to clean out the gaps between my teeth), a electric shaver (which thankfully is still working), and some hair gel (what? My Mohawk needs a lot of care and attention!). Oh, and then there's the PRAWN blueprint. But, _hair gel!_ That's all for now. I need to give my hair some desperate medical attention.

**Author's Note: Hello once again, Patrons! I've got some updates, and some other stuff that needs to be gotten out of the way. **

**First off, thank you to Stativefawn72 for being the first person to review this story! It means a lot to me when I get feedback on my work, and I'm glad that people are enjoying this story. Stativefawn72 asked whether there'd be any updates to the story this year, and I'm glad to say that there is going to be at least one more chapter before the end of the year. I've been busy for most of this year with work, and I'm going to be a lot less busy through the majority of this month and next month. Next year's also going to be busy, but I'll be under considerably less stress. I hope. I'm not clairvoyant, so I can't tell at this stage. **

**Next, I've got some recommendations to make for other stories on this site. I'd like to recommend 'Queens and Mages' by ClementineDavidson, and 'Free Runner' by Dementer Fenir; both of which are RWBY AU stories. 'Queens and Mages' is a RWBY story with a interesting premise involving some AU fantasy setting, while 'Free Runner' is a AU set in a modern-day-like Remnant, and featuring some very nice takes on the characters from the canon show. Both involve ships, which I'm usually uncool about, but I rather like the writing in both; and if you're invested in the White Rose ship, then they're probably good fics to look at. **

**Finally, I'd like to thank everyone who has continued to read my stories through my hiatus. As always, R&R, and don't forget to leave me a PM if you want to ask any questions, or need a beta reader for your own projects. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Log Entry – Day 17**

So now that I've fixed up the _Aurora_'s drive core, it's time to begin planning out my next moves. My first priority is establishing a reliable supply of food and water. Catching fish is all well and good, but I need something to rely on if I'm injured for a long period of time, and haven't got the supplies to last until I heal. I was lucky my leg was only mildly mauled by that Stalker, and that I haven't lost a leg. That would be bad. Obviously.

In any case, my solution is to obtain some farming space, and plants to grow there. That growbed blueprint I got from the time capsule I found is perfect, but I need a hell of a lot of space for it. Which means I need a larger habitat module. Thankfully, the black box also included maps of the local area, including the location of one of the Degasi survivor's bases. There's other locations, but the mapping data has been corrupted. So, my next priority is to head on over to this supposed "floating island", and locate their former habitat. Hopefully there's still something there after ten years of neglect.

In other news, I've finally managed to unlock this PDA's media library. Tonight's entertainment will be Season 1 of _The Orville_. Finally, some time to relax.

**Log Entry – Day 19**

So, it took a two day journey to and from the island, but I'm back in my seabase now, and ready to construct additional space. It was a mostly uneventful journey, although I did spot a new leviathan-class creature I'd never encountered before. It didn't attack me on sight, and it appeared at first to be some kind of floating coral reef. When I swam closer, I could see it filter-feeding on the krill-analogue microorganisms in the water, simular to the whales back on old Earth. It turns out that these are some kind of peaceful leviathan, which I've named 'Reefbacks'. The most amazing thing about these gentle giants are the ecosystems growing on and around their shells. The Reefback has only one means of protection: The extremely dense and tough shell protecting its back. As the creatures grown older, they start gathering the seeds and spores of local plant life, which grow into the cracks in the shell. These plants grow, and attract herbivores, who feed on the plants, and form colonies based around the Reefback. Each ecosystem is like a miniature coral reef, with the animals living on the creature swimming around it during the day, and then nesting within the dense plant life on its back during the night. The Reefback's immense size seems to scare off hostile predators, while the fish clean the Reefback, and sometimes ward off parasites looking to form a part of the ecosystem. Symbiosis is amazing!

I got to the island, which turned out to literally be floating. The entire thing seemed to have been a former part of the seabed, before it was lifted off the ocean floor by what appears to be massive versions of the pink ball-like creatures I've seen dotted around the ocean. Oh shit, I forgot to talk about that, didn't I? Here's the condensed version: There's pink creatures that suspend rocks and other objects off the ocean floor. I call them floaters. The island is held up by massive floaters. The end, let's move on.

Anyway, I managed to find a "beach" area with a path leading up onto the island proper. Grabbing my kit from my Seamoth's storage unit, I climbed ashore, and began making my way through the island. There was plant life _everywhere_. It was like being in a jungle, and I felt relieved to finally be on "solid" ground after so long. Unfortunately, the experience was ruined by the appearance of more of those four-legged assholes I dubbed 'Cave Crawlers'. If you don't remember, they're the disc-like crab things that ate the bodies of the _Aurora_ crew. Anyway, I didn't have my fire extinguisher handy, so I resorted to using my survival knife to stab them right in the…face? I guess? They don't really have a separated head and torso, so I'll just call the toothy bottom their "face". Eventually, I got to a rocky bridge crossing over a large fjord in the island. There, I spotted two hills on opposite sides of a valley. Each was topped by a small habitat, and I could see what looked like growbeds and a large structure in the valley inbetween them. I could also see movement. Thinking it was another member of the _Aurora_ crew, I rushed over to the other side of the bridge, and began sliding down the rocky hill leading down to the valley, yelling and waving my arms as much as possible. Unfortunately, it turned out to be more Cave Crawlers. Which I promptly killed out of spite. Damm things made me feel actual hope for a moment.

What I found was the remains of one of what was once a habitat. It had obviously been abandoned for some time, as a landslide had caved in one of the circular multipurpose modules, the upper corridor section had collapsed, and the entire thing was covered in filth and rust. The growbeds were of the same design that I had obtained from the time capsule I'd found earlier. Could this be one of the Degasi crew's seabases? Moving in closer, I saw a faint purple glow from inside the damaged multipurpose module. I clambered through the broken window, and into the space inside. The majority of the room was completely blocked by dirt and rock that had smashed through the left wall of the space some time in the past. The dirt blocked access to the door leading out of the room, and my attempts to clear away the rubble failed entirely. The only visible piece of furniture in the room was a half-buried desk poking out of the mound of debris. On it sat a strange metal object, with a glowing purple symbol on its upward-facing side. It was about the size of my PDA, but with no visible manufacturer's markings or even a on switch. The purple symbol didn't appear to react when I tapped on it, and the manner in which the "tablet" was being powered was indeterminate. There were no blemishes or scratches on the metal case, and even my survival knife couldn't score any marks on it when I ran it down the strange device.

Nearby, I spotted a abandoned PDA of Mongolian make. Unlike my Alterran PDA, with its smooth curves and minimalist design; the Mongolian PDA was bulky, angular, and robust. The edges of the screen were ringed with a square metal frame, while my own PDA simply left the smart-glass screen unsupported by anything but the handgrip. The device still seemed to have some juice in it, although it was only enough to display a battery indicator when I pressed the power button. Stowing both the strange device and the Mongolian PDA in my dive pack, I began searching for any remaining supplies that I could "borrow" for my continued survival. The only supplies I found were a mangled supply crate containing half a dozen nutrient blocks, of which only two were still sealed in their wrapper (and thus edible for up to six hundred years…or so the advertisements said), and a pair of reinforced dive gloves that were a size too large. There was also a toolkit containing three depleted batteries, and a flashlight with a cracked bulb. Putting away my newfound supplies into my pack, I quickly scanned the multipurpose modules, my PDA downloading the blueprints for the spaces. I also gathered some of the crops growing in the growbeds outside the habitat. Looks like I'm going to be surviving off potatoes for the next however-long-I'm-here. It was getting dark, so I headed back to my Seamoth. It took nearly a whole day to get back here, but I'm now ready to start farming some crops. Once I take a nap. Maybe two. On second thoughts, maybe just the one. For the want of a mattress, eh?

**Log Entry – Day 20**

So, today was quite busy, but it was ultimately a step in the right direction! The construction of the multipurpose module went fine, and the growbed blueprints actually built something resembling a growbed, so I'm hoping there wasn't any major corruption in the blueprint I used to make them. I don't want to end up growing potatoes that secretly have Xenomorph acid inside them. In any case, my new farm got set up quite nicely. I have five plots to grow food in. Each is about one meter on each side, and contains a nutrient-rich "bath" of gelatinous gloop. The plants use this gloop for water and nutrients, and the bath can be replenished with any suitable source of water, salt, and biological waste matter. This means I can essentially grow crops indefinitely using a combination of seawater and my own shit. Not kidding, I'm essentially doing my business in the gloop, and growing my food from that.

Now, the average adult human (that's me for those bean-counters potentially reviewing this in the future) needs 2,500 calories a day to survive. My potatoes have about 110 calories apiece. I have five square meters of farmable land, each meter of which can support a maximum of four potato plants. I have five potatoes right now, which I can cut up into quarters and seed in the growbeds. Each quarter should have at least one of the "eyes" that contain the seeds, so I can actually grow the desired plants. These potatoes have been genetically engineered, and my scanner tells me that they've been tweaked for accelerated growth rate and vegetable output. Each plant can reach maturity along with the four potatoes it produces. I can produce 20 potatoes every two weeks, for a maximum of 2200 calories every two weeks. This is not nearly enough to survive.

However, there are two other sources of food I can rely on. First off, I can still fish to provide more food, which should supplement my food supply quite nicely. So far, I've been surviving on around 2-3 fish a day, which amounts to about half my required calorie intake. This has been fine in the short term, but 1250 calories over a extended period of time can't be all that healthy. By storing and rationing my potatoes, I can stretch my supply further.

In two weeks, I'll have my first crop of 20 potatoes. five of those will be cut up into quarters and reseeded to make a new crop. The other 15 will be my food supply. If I'm trying to maximise my calorie intake, I can consume one per day for two weeks until the next crop is ready, which will bring my daily calorie intake up to about 1360. That's still not enough, so that's where the next part of my plan come in.

In addition to the five large growbeds, I've also set up four smaller plantpots using the same technology as the larger growbeds in the corners of the room. These planters can only support a single plant, and I currently don't have any potatoes to seed them with. So, when my first crop is finished, I'll use the remaining 15th potato to seed the pots. This will up my calorie production to 2640 calories every two weeks, or around 189 calories per day. So, I'll then build more pots, and maybe even another floor to the far where I can stuff more growbeds. This is going to take both resources and time, but since the immediate danger is out of the way; I have all the time in the world to do this stuff. I'm now settling down to watch another episode of _The Orville_. Let's see how the crew deal with Bortus's new baby…

**Log Entry – Day 25**

I don't have much to report this time around. The last five days have been composed of scavenging, scrounging, and more scavenging. My current goal is to improve my seabase as much as possible to set up a means of surviving till help arrives. With that goal in mind, I've been looking for any blueprints that might help me, and for the resources to construct those new technologies. I've found the blueprints for a double bed _with a mattress_, and I now have a bedroom that I can actually get a good night's sleep in. I've found partial blueprints for a large aquarium that I can farm fish in, and I'm still looking for the other fragments of that module. I believe that the _Aurora_ was using those as storage for the genetically engineered algae that formed part of the ship's water recycling system, but that's just a guess on my behalf. Could have been cargo, could have been something that the Degasi crew just left lying around. Now that I've got food, I still need the most vital thing required for a engineer's survival: beer. Or, rather, some sort of crude vodka. I do have potatoes after all. So, I'm looking for something to use as a still. I'm thinking a modified bioreactor. That would be perfect for making my own booze.

In other news; I managed to get the Mongolian PDA powered. The data on it was mostly corrupted, but I did get a single log entry off the device. Apparently that glowing tablet I found was discovered by the _Degasi_ crew on that island. They couldn't figure out what it was, only that it was nothing they'd seen before. Could there possibly be aliens? Like, intelligent aliens? I'm beginning to feel a bit creeped out by that thought. The PDA was otherwise useless, so I've put it aside to break down into components. The circuits and wiring inside could be valuable to me, as could the titanium casing. The smart-glass as well. I need a television screen, and that smart-glass could give me the answer to my need for a High-Definition screen for my nightly entertainment. That reminds me; tonight's feature film will be _Star Wars XXXVIII: Revenge of the Jedi-Sith Rebel Alliance_. Let's hope it's not as shit as I heard it was…

**Log Entry – Day 26**

I'M GETTING RESCUED!

Holy shit, I'm getting rescued!

Sorry, I…*ahem*…I got a little excited there. Let me slow down a bit.

Today started off slow, with my first order of business being to check on the crops. The potatoes are growing well, and I've already got some early sprouts. I then did some maintenance on my Seamoth, mainly running a level-4 diagnostic from the control console, and then sitting back for three hours watching _Monty Python's Flying Circus_. There were no faults, although the coolant pressure in the port manuovering thruster was a bit low. I resolved to fix that up as soon as possible.

I then took a gander around the local area, trying to track down any additional blueprints. I wasn't too focused on a specific goal, I was just trying to find anything that could be useful. Net result? Nada. Not even something I could break down for spare parts. I checked my grav traps for catches, got a bucketload of fish I proceeded to preserve for later. Cooked two for lunch, the Peeper was a bit stringy, but the boomerang went down nicely. It wasn't until about a hour ago that my PDA informs me the radio had picked up a widebeam transmission. Heading to my lifepod, I listened to the message: it was a trading ship called the _Sunbeam_. A independent vessel, not aligned with any of the major transgovs. Her captain, Avery Quinn, had picked up our distress beacon from the edge of the system. He has to come get us, the Charter dictates he has to! Goodbye 4546B; Hello Alterra Prime!

**_Author's Note: This was a bit short, but I've been suffering from writers block recently. I'd like to note that yes, I know that there's a few things I changed from the game (like the rate of Chinese Potato Plant growth; or the time at which the Sunbeam is scripted to send the first message), but I'm trying to make this a bit more realistic than Subnautica is, and stuff like the Mongolian tablets looking the same as the Alterra tablets makes little sense, given that they're competing transgovs. _**

**_Also, Merry Christmas/Hanukah/Etc. to everyone, should I not post again before Christmas this year. I hope everyone enjoys their respective holiday season, and I hope you have a happy new year as well. It's been a rough year for me, but I'm looking forwards to 2020!_**

**_EDIT: I have a new Paetron page that I will be accepting donations through. For the link and more info, visit my profile page on this site. _**


	4. Chapter 4

**Log Entry – Day 27**

So, now that I know that someone's coming to get me, I have a new list of priorities to put together. Captain Quinn and his ship are a week out from 4546B, so my first priority is staying alive until their arrival. On that front, I can safely say that I'm well off. My farm is already showing a good number of sprouts, and while it won't be providing any food before my rescue, at least I'll be bringing home knowledge of a new method of farming far superior to the current growbed tech. I'll bet that Alterra's agricultural division will be willing to pay billions of credits for that tech. I've got enough preserved fish to last three weeks, and my water supply is good for two more weeks on top of that. My habitat is performing well, and I haven't had to fix any leaks yet, but I'm still keeping a eye out for any cracks in the hull. I'm going to limit my expeditions from the seabase until Captain Quinn gives me rendezvous coordinates, so the next week's going to be mainly maintenance duties and some resource gathering in case the Sunbeam is delayed for whatever reason.

My second priority is trying to find any remaining survivors from the _Aurora_. I've begun picking up automated distress beacons from other lifepods, so I know other people made it down. The expeditions I will attempt with be S&R ops to try and find any other survivors. I haven't seen any trace of any other people yet, but I'm sure it's just that they're turtling up somewhere in their own habitats. My first destination is the far side of the Grassy Plateau, where one of the Aurora's support personnel appears to have crash landed. I'll have to wait till tomorrow though, since my Seamoth is currently due for repairs. I busted one of the primary compression coils on a rock this morning after trying to get down into a crevasse. I'll have to pull the entire system, and fix it at some point before attempting any rescue ops. There's also the issue of how to bring multiple people in a vehicle with a cockpit big enough for one person. I'll figure something out. Probably. For now though, I'm going to see how my potatoes are growing. Good night, good world!

**Log Entry – Day 28**

Fixed the Seamoth. Got my ankle caught between some rocks while chasing a Peeper through a cave. Badly sprained it. In serious pain. Now resting while waiting for my ankle to stop throbbing. Nothing else to report.

**Log Entry – Day 31**

So, the last three days have been spent recuperating following my accident. My ankle was too swollen to move around on, so I basically spent three days in bed surrounded by my supplies. I'm good to walk around now, although it still aches a little when I put pressure on it.

During my three-day "vacation", I missed a message from the _Sunbeam_. Apparently they've picked up our orbital debris field, and are making headway towards 4546B. Unfortunately, they're still quite some distance away, as evidenced by the transmission delay. A delay that sits at nearly a week. I did some math, and if they push their engines as hard as possible, they might be able to cut off two or three days from their journey. That's assuming they don't run into any navigational hazards like asteroid fields, and that they can navigate the debris field without issue. I don't know what sort of ship the _Sunbeam_ is, but if they're as small as Captain Avery says they are, then they're probably not rated for landing in the ocean. At least if they want to take off again, that is.

In any case, I'm going to start searching for other survivors. I'm packing the Seamoth for an extended trip away from base, and I'm going to avoid recording log messages to conserve my PDA's power supply. I can recharge from my Seamoth's own power cell, but that's going to reduce my operational range. Thus, I'm going to avoid using my PDA as much as possible. I guess my next log file will be when I get back. See you in two days!

**Log Entry – Day 33**

Nothing, nothing, and goddamm nothing!

Maybe I should start from the top: Operation "Find Some Other Sods Stuck On This Rock"- A name that I probably should have discarded in favour of something less long-winded- was a resounding failure. I investigated the wrecks of Lifepods Three, Four, Six & Seventeen.

Lifepod Three was abandoned on the seabed, with a failed floatation system. The top hatch was open, and the interior flooded. There was no sign of any surviving crew, although there weren't any bodies either. A search of the perimeter revealed a number of scorched bones, some tattered remains of what were once survival suits, and the burned-out remains of a seaglide. I found a PDA which revealed that the two survivors aboard Lifepod 3 had modified a Seaglide to carry the two of them to the rendezvous coordinates. It appears the jury-rigged seaglide overloaded and exploded. I buried the remains nearby the lifepod. They didn't deserve what happened to them.

Lifepod Four was upside down on the surface of the ocean right next to the _Aurora_ crash site. I didn't bother investigating once I saw the hole in the side and the massive claw marks scarring the titanium shell of the escape vessel. I also buggered off when the culprit- the Reaper Leviathan who previously tried to kill me during my mission to the _Aurora_\- began looking for another meal. Namely me. I fucking hate this planet.

Lifepod Six was in a simular situation to Lifepod Four, being sunken on the bottom of the ocean. However, while Lifepod Four had obviously failed to deploy the floatation devices on the way down, and had flooded when the crew abandoned the craft on their way out, this craft had a large part of the hull blown apart. The interior was marred with scorch marks all over the wall, consistent with a large detonation. Further investigation revealed that the explosion had occurred in the fuel plant for the re-entry thrusters. Now, it's probably prudent to mention that I have never seen a Alterra PDA break for any reason. I've seen people drop them off cliffs, smack them with sledgehammers, shoot them with handguns, even fire shotguns into them. The most I've seen in terms of damage is a hairline crack on the screen. So one of my steps in investigating what happened was to look for a surviving PDA. I found two. They told a tale of a pushy passenger, a flare, a fuel line, and a explosion. Yet another unfortunate accident that killed people who probably didn't deserve it.

The last of the lifepods I visited- Lifepod Seventeen- was yet another craft lying on the bottom of the ocean with a hole in its side. This time it was another animal attack, and I didn't even need to see the PDA to know that the people on-board really didn't deserve what happened to them.

I returned to my seabase, kicked over my desk, swore, and began recording this log. Captain Avery called while I was gone to give me landing coordinates. I set out in the morning to await my rescue. One more day, and I'm home. Goodnight.

**Log Entry – Day 35 #1**

This should be my last log before leaving this world for good. I've arrived at the coordinates Captain Avery sent me, and there's little over two hours before the Sunbeam arrives. I did find some freaky machine on the shore that appears to be some sort of alien technology, but I'm going to leave any investigation of it to the boffins back home. It's fucking huge, and seemingly extends beneath the ocean, descending to the very base of this island.

Speaking of the island, the coordinates appear to be another island like the one I found the Degasi habitat on. Unlike that island- which was floating on the backs of several massive aliens- this one appears to be some kind of mountain, and is anchored to the seabed. The island is pretty large, but most of the centre is occupied by the peak of the mountain, with the perimeter ringed by a white sandy beach that reminds me of the Hawaiian beaches you see in all those movies from Old Earth. There's more of those cave crawlers here, but I've learned that the little buggers are vulnerable to curbstomping.

Getting back to the alien structure, it's certainly quite interesting, although I don't want to risk missing the Sunbeam's arrival in the process of exploring it. The structure is made from a matte grey metal which my scanner tool doesn't recognise. My scanner says that the structure is at least a thousand years old. Despite its age however, I couldn't find a single chip, crack, flaw, or dent in the metal comprising the structure. It's covered in grime, sure. But the metal itself is otherwise pristine. Even some old spacecraft I've seen in museums back on Alterra Prime- spacecraft from the very first era of human spaceflight- have visible signs of aging, despite the care given by the museums to preserve them. Whoever or whatever built this obviously possessed a grasp of materials science far in advance of our own.

I've been observing the structure for around two and a half hours now, and I haven't seen any activity of any kind. The entrance is protected by a forcefield that I can't find any means of opening or deactivating. There's a pillar beside the door that opens up to reveal a rectangular cavity when I approach, but I can't determine its purpose or method of operation. I can't be sure of it, but I'm pretty sure that there's no one home. The grime and dirt on the exterior isn't definitive proof that there's no one home- the aliens might have a cultural aversion to cleaning- but if they are home, I'm pretty sure I'd have seen some sign of it by now.

The Sunbeam will be arriving in five minutes. I'm already picking up her transponder, and her computer has made a link with my PDA. I should be getting communications in a few seconds. This is Riley Robinson, sole survivor of the _Aurora_, signing off for good.

**Data Entry – PDA-12235-RR-NEMC Systems Log – Mission Day #35 **

00:00 | SEARCHING FOR SUNBEAM TRANSPONDER

01:02 | TRANSPONDER LOCATED – INITIATING DATA LINK – DONE

01:03 | HANDSHAKE PROTOCOLS INITIATED – GENERATING PRIVATE KEYS –EXCHANGING SECURITY PROTOCOLS – DONE

01:10 | CONNECTION ESTABLISHED WITH SUNBEAM COMPUTER – PARTIAL ACCESS GRANTED TO SUNBEAM ONBOARD SYSTEMS

05:02 | WARNING – SUNBEAM DETECTING ENERGY SURGE IN VICINITY OF LANDING ZONE – THREAT ASSESSMENT: ZERO DANGER

05:30 | SUNBEAM COMPUTER HAS REQUESTED PDA LOG DATA – INITIATING DATA TRANSFER

05:31 | COMMENCING PDA LOG BACKUP – ERROR! – UPLOAD FAILURE – SIGNAL INTERFERENCE DETECTED

05:32 | SWITCHING TO LASER UPLINK – DONE

05:33 | DETECTING SYSTEM FAILURES IN SUNBEAM COMPUTER – REQUESTING DIAGNOSTIC ACCESS

05:33 | ACCESS GRANTED – CONNECTING TO SUNBEAM DIAGNOSTIC COMPUTER – DONE

05:34 | WARNING – SUNBEAM PRIMARY SENSOR ARRAY NONFUNCTIONAL – HULL BREACH DETECTED

05:35 | WARNING – SUNBEAM REPORTING CRITICAL LIFE SUPPORT FAILURE

05:35 | WARNING – SUNBEAM REPORTING DRIVE CORE FAILURE – REACTOR BREACH DETECTED

05:36 | WARNING – SUNBEAM COMPUTER REPORTING EXPLOSION ON THE BRIDGE – CREW BIOMETRICS UNAVAILABLE

05:36 | WARNING – SUNBEAM REPORTING MAJOR DAMAGE TO ALL SUBSYSTEMS

05:37 | WARNING – SUNBEAM REPORTING MULTIPLE HULL BREACHES – MAJOR DAMAGE TO ALL SYSTEMS

05:37 | ERROR – SUNBEAM COMPUTER OFFLINE – SIGNAL LOST – LAST REPORTS INDICATE CRITICAL SYSTEMS FAILURE – LOGGING DATA TO PDA MEMORY BANKS – DONE

DATA LOGGED AT 15h 35m 37s LOCAL TIME; OCT 24, 2195

**Log Entry – Day 35 #2**

GOD FUCKING DAMM IT!

GAAAH!

WHY DOES THIS SHIT HAPPEN TO ME!

I FUCKING HATE MY LI-

*RECORDING DEACTIVATED*

**Log Entry – Day 35 #3**

Ok, what the fuck did I do in a past life to deserve this? What _hideous_ crime did I commit to be put in this situation? What the fuck is the universe's problem with me?

It was all going _so_ well. I say that without the slightest hint of sarcasm. The _S_unbeam had begun to set down, my PDA had established a connection with their computer, and Captain Avery was talking with me over the data link. Then, the connection cut out, and my PDA switched to using laser communications. Then, that goddam alien structure began to move. It turns out that it's actually some kind of fucking energy weapon! When it was pointed squarely at the Sunbeam, there was a flash of green light, and a beam of energy hit my ride out of here square in the port side.

The _Sunbeam_ wasn't as big as the _Aurora_. She appeared to be a lightweight interstellar trading ship, a Alterran design. She would have only been designed to handle minor impacts from micrometeorites, or moderate collisions with space debris. Like the _Aurora_, she was never designed to stand up to high-power energy weaponry. Unlike the _Aurora_, she didn't have hull plating that was at least a meter thick. Unlike the _Aurora_, which crash landed in pretty good condition…she simply detonated in mid-air.

I…I…I don't know what I'm going to do. It's unlikely there'll be another ship within range to pick up the distress signal in time to rescue me, and even if they do find me, they'll suffer the same fate as Captain Avery. If they survive, they'll be stranded, same as me. I…

…I'm screwed.

I'm getting ready to return to my habitat now. I'm going to take a nap and get my head straight. After that…I don't know. I don't know that I'm going to do now…

…this is Riley Robinson, signing off.

**Log Entry – Day 36**

Alright. I've had a good night's sleep, and I'm in a bit of a better state of mind that yesterday. I've taken stock of my supplies, thought hard about my situation, and I've decided that I'm going to survive at any cost. With all that done, here's my new checklist of tasks to achieve;

First, I need to shut down that alien "gun". I think it's obvious now that the weapon is what shot down the _Aurora_, and I'm pretty sure that it'll shoot _me_ down if I attempt to leave the planet myself. So, I need to determine what exactly its purpose is, and how I can deactivate it for good.

Secondly, I need to keep planning for the long term. I'm probably going to be here for a long time, and I need to figure out a more reliable way of obtaining food and water. I'm good in terms of food- I've got my potatoes, and they'll provide a good deal of calories- but I also need protein, calcium, minerals, all that shit. Fish are good for protein, and they should also give me some much needed vitamins; but I don't have a efficient way of obtaining them right now. I expend too many calories chasing down my food than I get from eating my food. Thus, I need to figure out some way of farming the fish in a controlled environment. My potatoes aren't the best for the long term since they take so long to grow. So, I need some quicker growing food. I also need to try and scavenge some of the Aurora's medical equipment. Bandages are fine for fixing some injuries, but I need some more advanced stuff from the ship's medical bay. I'm also interested in going through some of the stuff in the cargo bay. There's possibly some supplies that survived the crash and the fires, and there could be some equipment that still works properly.

My third goal is to try and figure out a way off this planet once the gun is shut down. The Aurora's communications array was the only thing sending the signal, and the explosion that destroyed half the ship also destroyed the array. The Sunbeam picked up the signal, but I might not be lucky enough to have a second ship pick up the signal. Even if there is another ship lurking somewhere nearby, they'll have no way of communicating with me until they're within range of the gun, at which time they'll be destroyed. Thus, I can't warn them to keep their distance.

My first step is to figure out a way inside the alien structure. That receptacle looks like it's shaped for the purple tablet I found at the Degasi habitat. Maybe it's a key of some kind. I'll know more once I've headed back to the Mountain Island. Until then, I'm going to do some much needed maintenance on my Seabase. The environmental controls are glitching out, and I woke up last night with frost on every surface. That's not going to work for me at all.

Whatever the cost, I will survive. Robinson out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Log Entry ─ Day 37 #1**

After yesterday's clusterfuck of an attempted rescue, I'm now more prepared than ever to escape this oversized swamp of a planet. After conducting some much-needed maintenance on the habitat, I began prepping the Seamoth for another trip back to the island. I finished that around noon (or what passes for it on this world), and headed out immediately. I also brought that alien tablet-thing I found at the Degassi habitat a while back. I had a good look at this plinth next to the forcefield leading into that weapon installation. I had a few hours to waste, so I got some detailed scans of the plinth's dimensions. The damm thing kept popping open, which really mucked up a few of the scans, but it revealed a cavity inside. A cavity exactly the right shape and size to fit that glowing thingamabob. If I'm right, this tablet- or whatever it is- might be the key to opening that forcefield. Right now, I'm on the way to the mountain island, and so far I haven't run into any threats. I heard the roar of a Reaper Leviathan a little while ago, so I'm going to end this recording before I get any closer. I'll pick up the log once I get there safely. See you in a bit!

**Log Entry ─ Day 37 #2**

So, I managed to get to the island in one piece. There was indeed a Reaper nearby, and it did catch onto my presence. However, with some _expert_ evasion, and some _incredible_ piloting skills- hold for applause, please- I managed to get to the beach without issue. The bastard chased me for a while, but slunk off into the depths when I got into shallow waters. I guess these things can't crawl their way onto land. Well, at least there's one place I'm safe from them. I guess.

Anyway, the alien gun is right here in front of me. It's quite a sight…when it's not blowing up my ride out of here. It's one of the largest planet-bound structures I've ever seen. The actual weapon part is something like ten stories high, and from what I've seen, it also extends below the surface. I haven't explored down there fully yet, but it seems to go all the way down to the ocean floor.

The exterior, as I said a few entries ago, is caked with grime and some plant life that seems to have grown on it while it's lain dormant. Mainly moss and lichen analogues, and they're pretty blotchy, but they're still managing to live on it. The architecture is…weird. Lots of hard angles, and what looks like engraved portions. Almost like something from Mayan architecture back on Old Earth, but more…alien. Now that I know what it does, I can see that the gun itself can move on a articulated mount that swivels. I'd hazard a guess that the gun only fired when the Aurora entered a specific orbital path that took it within range. Our trajectory probably brought us down into the immediate vicinity, so I'm lucky we ended up nearby. The scan data I recovered from the Aurora's black box had most of the planet's equatorial region mapped, and from what I can ascertain, this gun is the only one along the Aurora's flightpath. So, yeah, if we'd crashed even a couple dozen kilometres from where we did…at least there's something to be glad for.

The forcefield is…well…just as new to me as anything else. The only time I've ever seen a forcefield outside of science fiction is during a technology fair back on Alterra Prime. They were showing off some sort of safety system for shuttle crashes. Basically, the field would briefly activate to slow the vehicle down if it collided with another aircraft. The idea was to make the impact both less sudden, and also less forceful. I remember being enthralled by the idea, seeing as…well…my parents…I'm…I'm getting off-track.

Anyway, the issues with the tech were significant. It could only function once before being replaced, as the amount of power required to generate a field for even a fraction of a second was enough to burn out the relays, and render the projector useless. The field wasn't strong enough to significantly halt a collision at full speed, only collisions that took place at less than a kilometre a hour, and objects could still pass through the field regardless- albeit slowed down.

This field had obviously been designed to be more permanent, more powerful, and no matter how hard I pressed on it, it felt like a wall of solid stone. Scratch that, even stone wouldn't be as firm or immovable as this field.

I'm about to try and open the door. I'll continue this log once I've made some headway in exploring this structure. Hopefully I'll survive to report on what I find. This is Ryley Robinson, out.

**Log Entry ─ Day 37 #3**

Wow.

Just…wow.

I'm back up at the entrance to this facility, and I've come out of the place with more questions than I had in the first place. As for answers…well…

After inserting the tablet into the plinth, the articulated plates that made up the front of the pillar snapped shut, sealing the tablet inside. The forcefield flickered, and then disappeared, leaving behind a gaping doorway. The inside was lit dimly with a sickly green glow, the light coming from gaps in the walls. I stepped in, and began to explore the facility. The walls inside were carved with a intricate pattern of gaps, just like the exterior of the structure. All of it looked…ceremonial. Like it had some cultural or religious significance. The walls were made from the same material as the exterior, with the same lack of any welds or joints that would suggest terrestrial construction methodology. Everything looked like it had been hewn from the same gigantic block of the alien metal. As I walked further in, the sickly green light that illuminated the corridor seemed to brighten, as if reacting to my presence.

As I turned the first corner, I found a pillar with some sort of cube-shaped crystal resting on top. The pillar rose out of the floor as I approached, rising to chest height. The crystal's surface was rough, with a angular mottling that reminded me of old-fashioned circuitry. It was coloured a translucent milky green, and pulsed with an ethereal light. After conducting some scans with my PDA, I tentatively touched the cube with my finger. I was relieved to find that my hand didn't disintegrate or melt, or otherwise become deformed or destroyed. So, good stuff all around. The scans had suggested that the crystal was some sort of battery, although the amount of energy contained inside was enough to power my home town for a year. So, yeah. That could have turned out badly.

I proceeded to pick the entire thing up, and nearly dropped it out of shock. It was surprisingly heavy for its size, weighing about the same as the titanium air tank on my back. Hefting the cube to chest height, I examined it closer. The patterns etched into its surface were reminiscent of the patterns in the walls around me, suggesting that this crystal was carved by the same…I'll go with 'hands'…as this facility. I could feel a faint vibration coming from within the cube as it gently pulsed, the light reflecting off my suit's visor. As I stood there, the pillar the cube had rested on sank back into the floor, a deep grinding sound echoing within the hallway. Putting the cube away for later, I began pressing deeper into the facility.

Eventually, I emerged into a large, two-story room. I stood on the upper floor, a narrow walkway with a ramp leading down to the lower floor. There was some sort of pedestal in front of me, which was projecting a holographic glyph into the air above it. When I moved nearer, the hologram flickered and disappeared. Then…I don't know how to describe it. It was some sort of deep thrum, with a vaguely metallic tone. It sounded sort of like a mechanical buzzing sound, but slowed down and randomly changed in pitch and tone. Whatever it was, it only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough to convey some sort of message that my PDA was able to partially translate. It was some kind of warning about a disease outbreak and a quarantine. It also called this facility a "Quarantine Enforcement Platform". I didn't like the sound of that.

Whatever this place was, it was still my best chance of finding answers. If I was going to escape, I needed to find out how to shut this thing down so I could get off-world. So, I pressed on. Descending down the ramp, I found another two of those green crystals, which I proceeded to stuff into my pack. If I was the only survivor, Alterra would want to recoup the costs of every naturally occurring material I used on this world, and I'm pretty sure that my bank account isn't going to be enough to keep me out of indentured labour when I get back. I'm pretty sure that this alien tech isn't naturally occurring, and Alterra will definitely see the value in this stuff. Hell, I could be more famous that Craig McGill! Although, last I heard, "Craig McGill Vs. Wild" was on its last legs back home. Something about a man drinking green milk from alien sea cows being vaguely off-putting for viewers. Eh, I didn't watch that rubbish anyway.

Putting my potential debt aside for now, I haven't finished my story. The only path forwards lead to a long shaft descending deeper underground. Looking down the shaft, I saw no signs of a ladder, or any mechanism for a lift of some kind. That's when my left foot slipped and I fell into the shaft. Now, you'd imagine that this is where I fall, hit the floor far below, and become a Ryley pancake. But, the instant I toppled into the shaft, I found myself suspended in midair, my arms and legs flailing like a character in a old 20th century cartoon. Then, I began to fall, albeit suspended by whatever was holding me up. I fell in freefall for a few seconds before slowing, the ground gently coming up below me. My feet touched the floor as softly as if I had clambered out of bed, and I staggered out of the shaft, my heart thumping like the pistons of some archaic engine.

Looking back, it must have been some kind of gravity field, or some other exotic technology. Honestly, with my genre knowledge, I should have expected something like this from a highly advanced alien civilisation. If only I could bring this entire facility back to Alterra. I'd be rich beyond my wildest dreams! The shaft exited in some kind of massive room, with what looked like a moonpool taking up the majority of the space. From the look of it, it could fit a Cyclops submersible, and still have room to spare. I was near one of the far walls, and the only other passage was near the back of the space. It lead into a room with many ramps leading upwards towards the ceiling. Walking up the ramp, I found another one of those tablets, and some display cases of some kind. One case housed a gun of some kind, although it was like no other weapon I had seen before. It was yellow, with a pair of thin prongs extending out where the barrel would be on a normal weapon. There was a recognisable grip and trigger mechanism, suggesting that whoever designed the gun had human-like hands and fingers, although the number of fingers or shape of the hand was impossible to determine at a glance. The case seemed to be unbreakable, and there was no visible way to open it up. Even if I did, I had no idea how such a weapon would function, and I have no training or experience with guns anyway. So, yeah. I left it right where it was.

The second case had some kind of articulated device, which popped open, and began shrieking when I approached. My PDA informed me that the device had enough power contained inside to destroy a solar system, and suggested that it was some kind of failsafe device that had failed to go off when expected. I moved as far away as possible after hearing that. Other than those two cases and the tablet, the upper ramps contained nothing else of interest. Well, other than the alien facility that I was the first human being to ever set foot inside. But that's another thing entirely. There was a much more interesting device in a antechamber off the main room. Some kind of archway sat inside the room, a device that reminded me visually of the Stargates from the TV franchise of the same name. Except it was angular, not circular. Oh, and there was no DHD or other control device. Also, it was completely inert, according to my PDA.

Anyway, after ascending back up the ramps to the top, I found another forcefield leading into what I assumed was a control room of some kind. Well, my PDA said that. So I didn't really assume anything. I'm getting distracted. *Ahem*. The door had another one of those tablet holders, which I placed the second key inside. The plinth snapped shut, and the forcefield opened up. Inside was a room lined with tall pillars, their exteriors fitted with multiple lighting strips. At the far end of the room was a tall pillar, with a large gap in the middle, and a glowing cylinder inside. A button of some kind was on the front. There was no other visible controls or mechanisms. Shrugging, I pressed the button. Biggest fucking mistake of my life up till now.

Before I could even blink, my hand was immobilised by some kind of energy field. No matter how hand I pulled, my wrist would not budge one inch. Then, a flat, circular section of the pillar about the diameter of my hand detached from the device, and extended on a long metallic tendril of some kind. It seemed to peer at me, before extruding a long spike from the centre, and plunging it into my forearm. I screamed in pain as it heated up till it was red hot, my nerves feeling like they were on fire. Then, it yanked itself out of my arm, and retracted into the wall. The field holding my arm in place disengaged, and I collapsed to the floor, nursing my arm. When I looked for the wound, I found it was rapidly closing, till there was no sign that anything had even punctured my arm. Then, a sound similar to the one from earlier rang out through the chamber. My PDA translated the message, and reported it back to me. Something about 'infected individuals' not being able to shut down the Quarantine Enforcement Platform. That did _not_ sound good.

I'm now spending the night camping on the beach outside the facility. I went inside that gun expecting to find answers, and I came out with more questions that I had before. Whatever the case, I know where I need to go. That last message had some minor schematics of the facility attached, and it mentioned more facilities deeper under the sea. It didn't go to mentioning their exact location, but it gave a depth, and a direction from the platform. Whatever I find in those other facilities must be the key to getting off this godforsaken world. Robinson out.

**Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out, folks. I'm trying to update semi-consistently, now that I've got some more time on my hands, but I had some snags with my Mac, and I ended up switching over to a PC. So, there was some drama in getting a word processor set up, getting my files transferred over, and getting all the essentials set up. But, I can say that everything's mostly fine now. I'd also like to remind people that I'm shilling on Patr(e)on now (apologies for the parenthesis, this site censors the word in question, and I can't post the URL without it freaking out either). I go by "Crazy Minh" rather than "Crazy Mihn" elsewhere online, so if you're interested in supporting my writing with a monthly donation of $5, please consider heading over to that site and searching me up. Patrons will receive exclusive access to a Google docs folder containing my early drafts, and will get their names mentioned at the end of every new chapter of my stories. I'm currently not offering commissions, since I don't have the time to consistently fulfill them right now, but I do plan to accept commissions once I've sorted some more stuff out. I would like to note that no content will be locked behind any sort of paywall, and this is entirely optional on your behalf. However, I'm struggling a bit to make ends meet, and so I'd highly appreciate even the smallest contribution. That's all for now, folks. Anyway, I hope everyone's staying safe during these times of disease and global lockdown, and I hope that everyone comes out of this pandemic healthy and...well...alive. On that uncomfortable note, I'll see you all next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Log Entry ─ Day 38**

So, I'm back at my habitat once more, and I've decided to make some expansions to the seabase. When I initially constructed the habitat, I only intended it to last until I could get rescue, which I believed would come within a couple of months at the least. As such, I have limited farming space, limited storage space, and I lack a large number of facilities that I'll need for extended habitation. My PDA also lacks a large number of blueprints for constructing the facilities I'll need. There is a remedy for that though.

My PDA stores a large amount of data, but it doesn't come loaded with the blueprints for the survival gear I've been using. Normally, my PDA stores around six terabytes of information, of which a large partition is normally inaccessible. My personal files are limited to about a third of the internal storage. Another third contains the OS and the onboard assistant program, and the final two terabytes are reserved for survival mode. When a "abandon ship" alarm is sounded aboard a Alterra vessel; the ship's computer automatically attempts to download all situationally appropriate blueprints to the PDA's of every crewmember onboard. This is stored in the survival mode portion of the PDA. When the Aurora crashed, my PDA received a number of the files stored in the Aurora's mainframe, albeit limited to whatever equipment I was certified to use.

However, something went wrong during the process. Whatever happened, I received a fraction of the necessary blueprints that would have been sent to my device, and I've had to reconstruct all of the missing pieces. There was also a large number of blueprints that I wasn't authorised to possess- such as the seamoth blueprint- that are now in my possession due to my scanner tool. Some of those blueprints include specialised modules such as a fully-equipped medical bay; advanced workshop tools; as well as other cool toys that I currently don't have time to list off.

The point is that I don't have this stuff. However, I can still get them…if the Aurora's main computer is still in one piece, and if I can get it operational. If so, I'll have access to a ton of helpful data, and will potentially be able to retrieve the required blueprints. This is all assuming that the core isn't a heap of scrap right now, and that it hasn't suffered major damage that could corrupt the data stored on it. If I do fix it, I'm also violating several major laws, and the fact that I'm admitting to it in this log entry is tantamount to declaring guilt in a courtroom. What I do have on my side is Emergency Provision 31, section six, paragraph three: "In a emergency situation, senior surviving crew may order the salvage and/or unauthorised repair of Alterra Corporation vessels in the pursuit of necessary survival operations". Seeing as I am currently the only survivor of the crash- thus making me the senior crewman in this situation- I see no issue in ordering myself to attempt salvage or repair of the Aurora's computer core.

Seeing as I'm on a roll here with my flagrant disregard of the entire rulebook, another "totally legitimate" project I'm working on is a fully-functional fermentation and distillation apparatus. More commonly known as a still. I've been adapting a bioreactor into a processor that will hopefully allow me to create alcohol. Now, this is technically not illegal under Alterra guidelines. The "making booze" thing, that is. What _is_ improper is my illicit modification of machinery in violation of the terms of service and manufacturer's guidelines. However, I can still claim that this is legal under Emergency Provision 18.5, section one, paragraph two: "In the event of a psychological or morale-based crisis among surviving crew; senior crewmembers are permitted to find ways of treating or entertaining said crew by any means deemed necessary by the highest-ranking crewmember". Now, while paragraphs three _does_ list the use of power generators for recreational electric shocks as a exception, and paragraph four states that "crewmembers must not ingest a amount of alcohol that would put their BAC above a lethal level (unless used as a means of medical euthanization)"…I think those are the only two that are even tangentially linked to the violation of standard regulations I am about to commit. I don't think the company has had a crash of this size before, and all of the major incidents from other transgovs that made it into the media have been within charted space. So I don't think that anyone predicted that someone would be stranded by themselves so far from help, and without anyone ranking higher to stop them from entertaining such shenanigans.

In other news, my current crop has begun to mature. I've got shoots growing, and it looks to be a bountiful harvest this time around. My habitat is still functioning within normal parameters, although there has been some problems with the hinges on the inner door of the airlock. I'm going to see if the fabricator can whip up some WD40 for that. That's all for today, signing off.

**Log Entry ─ Day 39**

Today I fixed a breach that cropped up in a weakened bulkhead in the sleeping quarters. My bed got soaked, and I'm currently airing the sheets and the mattress. That's all. Fuck, I hate this planet.

**Log Entry ─ Day 41**

I've been going over the data from the alien facility over the last two days, and I've found some interesting information. So, the data I retrieved gave a listing of the various other facilities that these beings constructed on this world. I've started calling them "Precursors", since I needed a name, and they were here before me. If some sociologist or anthropologist back in civilised space wants to take issue with that, they can go fuck themselves. I was here first; I get to name the new species. I digress.

Anyway, as I said a few logs back, they gave a direction and a heading; but no coordinates that I can recognise. However, from what I can gather, all the other facilities appear to have been built deeper underwater. My seamoth is versatile, but it can't get down that far. So, I have a solution: the PRAWN suit. Those things were built to work in the vacuum of space, or in other extreme environments. I know for a fact that a few years back, a team of deep-sea explorers used the venerable PRAWN Mk II to explore the undersea caverns on the water world of DSX-0451, which Alterra sponsored in return for first mining rights. As I recall, the company newspapers were abuzz with the news of rich titanium and osmium deposits. Everyone got a bonus that year, regardless of involvement.

In any case, I've already got enough data from scans of the wrecked suits I found aboard the _Aurora_ to fabricate the suit. However, I lack some of the necessary materials that I'll need to build the vehicle. Namely plasteel and aerogel, which are obviously in short supply here on the planet. I could probably salvage some of the wrecked suits in the _Aurora_'s hangar for some of the less exotic parts, but the plasteel forms the hull of the suit, and the aerogel is used for joint seals and thermal insulation. If I try and refit one of the damaged hulls, I'll be putting myself in danger. In addition, while I've got a ton of skills in the field of engineering, I'm neither qualified or familiar with the mechanisms involved in PRAWN suits, aside from some minor exposure from casual research.

In any case, once I've got my suit, I'll have to learn how to use it. PRAWN suits are incredibly easy to pilot, as I understand it. One of my mates from before the crash was a EVA worker who was qualified with the vehicle. He showed me the controls one time when I was mopping up a chemical spill in the PRAWN bay. The cockpit has a seat suspended within the glass bubble at the front. A HUD is projected onto the glass windshield, and additional information is provided via the vehicle's onboard AI. The controls are freakishly easy to use. The pilot has a pair of articulated saunters that hang down from the ceiling. On the ends are a pair of hand controllers with a bunch of triggers and toggles integrated into them.

To walk forwards, you push each saunter forwards one after the other. To turn, you twist the hand controllers in the direction you want to move in. The suit's also equipped with a jetpack that can allow it to move in zero-g, but can be used underwater for propulsion. It's not so good when there's no buoyancy to counter the force of gravity pulling downwards. The jetpack and the suit's modular arm mounts are controlled via the triggers, with targeting controlled via a eye-tracking system that targets whatever the user is looking at. Most PRAWN suit training focuses on discipline, since it can be euphoric to be ten feet tall and armed with the power of a small freight train.

For now though, I need to focus on my immediate list of tasks. A pressing concern right now is my farming space, or rather what I'm farming. Potatoes are great for carbohydrates and raw calories, but they lack essential glycols and minerals. Peepers and Boomerangs give me a protein source, but I can't sustain myself off local catches. If something disrupts the local ecology- such as me overfishing- I could end up with a massive loss of protein intake, and that can cause long-term health issues. As such, I'm currently scavenging up as much enamelled glass as possible to attempt to build a aquarium to farm my own fish in. As I've observed, fish on this world seem to have a insanely fast reproductive cycle, especially the smaller fish such as Peepers and Boomerangs. From what I can ascertain, the small fish lay clutches of eggs every three or four weeks, and the eggs hatch within a week of spawning. It's kinda freakish, and I suspect Precursor shenanigans. In any case, whatever works in my favour, I guess. It's getting late here, and I need to do a few more dives to scrounge up some more materials before the nastier wildlife emerge to hunt after nightfall. This is Robinson, out.

**Log Entry – Day 43 **

So, the last few days have resulted in some fruitful developments for me. By fruitful, I mean "fruit full". I made a quick trip back to the floating island yesterday to see if I could find some more supplies in the wreckage of the Degasi habitat, although I've already scoured that site pretty thoroughly. I found nothing at the main site (other than those fucking crab bastards), but I did notice something I hadn't spotted before. On both of the peaks of the two hills on either side of the base camp, there were small structures that looked like other habitats. I found a rough trail that had been dug into the side of one of the hills, and I managed to get up to the top without issue. It was indeed a habitat, and one which the Degasi crew had obviously been using to farm additional crops. There were some species of plants that I hadn't found anywhere else on the island, all of which seemed to be genetically engineered. This was confirmed by a audio log by Bart Torgal, the son of the captain of the Degasi, and the guy who designed the modified planters I've been using to grow my food. The plants were non-indigenous, modified by Bart for faster growth and for adaptation to this planet's unique biosphere. There was some sort of bioluminescent tree-grown fruit that his logs called a "Lantern Fruit". It tasted vaguely like a cross between watermelon and cherries, and consisted of a fleshy outer layer with a seed floating in a bath of juices on the inside. The fruit wasn't all that nutritious according to my PDA, but it had significant water content, and contained a large amount of electrolytes and sugars. Perfect.

In addition, there was another plant called a "marblemelon". It was sort of like a watermelon, although it tasted more like a honeydew melon, and hard a similar texture and consistency to a rock melon. I took a few samples of each plant, along with that of other plants growing in the greenhouse. Most of the plants were inedible fungi or fern-analogues, but I reasoned that they could have useful medicinal properties. Bart's PDA had some interesting research data on the growth characteristics and molecular chemistry of the native plants growing in the greenhouse, so I nabbed the device as well. It took most of the day to head back to my habitat, so I ended up waiting till today to construct a new greenhouse to grow my new crops. I've seeded as much farmland as possible with the seeds of my new crops, and I've used the additional space to plant some more potatoes. If possible, I'll reseed the other space with my new plants when they and the potatoes are ready to harvest. One good thing is that those lantern trees will provide a renewable source of food, since I can harvest the fruit without killing the plant. I should be good for food for a while now, although I'll probably have to construct some storage for the results of each harvest now. That's all from me, signing off!

**Author's note: Heya, readers! I know it's been a while since my last update, and I hope you're all staying safe from COVID. There are tough times all around, so I hope that you've all got some reading material and toilet paper. Hopefully not just the reading material. In any case, I'd like to thank all the people who've reviewed so far, although I'd appreciate criticism. I know that the culture on this site* is to mindlessly praise authors for their work, and while that is appreciated, it's also not helpful to me. I know my work has problems, and criticism is a valid and necessary method to improve said work. But still, it's nice to know that there are folks enjoying my stories from around the globe. That's all for now, see you next update!**

*****(fucking hell, I hate the "No URL" system, especially since what was originally here wasn't a URL. All I wrote was )****


	7. Chapter 7

**Log Entry – Day 44**

Today I made some more progress!

I was out picking the seabed near the crash-site for quartz when I came across a large fragment of something. Normally, I would have just passed it off as another piece of the _Aurora_\- seeing as I was quite close to the crash site- and continued with my present task. However, something made me stop. Firstly, it didn't look like part of the _Aurora_'s hull. It was too thin to be part of the exterior hull, and the paint was the wrong shade of white. Secondly, it was lying in what appeared to be the wreck of a cargo container of some kind. Swimming over, I picked up a shard of the crate, with a serial number painted onto it. I consulted my PDA's technical library, and matched the ident to a crate containing parts for- of all things- a Cyclops deep-sea submersible. I can't imagine why the _Aurora_ was carrying it, but I would guess that it was mistakenly assigned to the ship's inventory before we left port. Either that, or we were going to deliver it to some undersea colony on the way back to Alterra Prime.

In any case, it looks like the submersible was disassembled for transport, and that this fragment was launched clear of the ship when it detonated. However this vehicle ended up onboard the _Aurora_, it's a stroke of luck for me. If I can scan enough fragments, I'll be able to construct myself a Cyclops. Once I've got one of those babies, I'll be able to extend my exploration range much, much further that I did when I built my seamoth. Hell, I could even carry my seamoth with me, as the Cyclops has a docking bay in the belly that can hold a single auxiliary vessel. However, my focus for now involves working on constructing a prawn suit that can get me deeper than I currently can go.

In other news, I've managed to scrounge up enough titanium to construct an expansion to my seabase. I've been running into some issues with organizing my stock of materials, and I've been stuffing lockers all over the shop. So, I decided to construct a dedicated storage annex to keep all my stuff in. I spent much of the afternoon sorting out an efficient storage system to keep my salvage organized. I've currently got about half of the old lockers emptied, and I'm going to spend the next couple of days finishing the transfer, organizing everything, and creating a spreadsheet on my PDA to keep track of my inventory. If I'm going to stay sane while all alone on this godforsaken water world, I'm going to have to keep my brain occupied at all times. There'll be plenty of time to have a breakdown once I'm back home. Robinson out.

**Log Entry – Day 47**

Well, organizing my inventory took a day longer than I expected, primarily due to a massive power failure that hit during the second day. This was my fault, and it's something I should have sorted out long ago. I've been expanding my seabase for a while now, and the solar power system is becoming insufficient to power my base 24/7. While I make sure to switch all nonessential systems off while I sleep, things like life support and computer systems chew up power. I've been adding more solar panels, but I'm still underwater, and some of my more intensive systems chew up a lot of power, including my new water purifier. The increased power draw has also been putting strain on the base's wiring system, which is the source of yesterday's massive blackout. I've fixed the issue, but I'm going to have to look into a new power source to keep my base running.

I've considered using a bioreactor to provide energy, seeing as I have a pretty good supply of both fish and potatoes. However, if I ever run into problems with my food supply, I'll be without reliable power. I'd have to plant more crops to feed the reactor anyway, as my current food supply is calculated for one person, not one person and a very power-hungry habitat. I don't have any idea of how I could put together a hydroelectric system, and even if I could, I'm not sure it'd provide enough power for my usage. I'm not even approaching nuclear power, mainly because I don't have any idea how to bang together a reactor without a blueprint. Also, radioactivity and people don't generally go together well, and I want to survive my journey home with as few extra limbs as possible.

That leaves my best option: thermal power. A while ago, I managed to reconstruct the blueprint for a thermal power plant, which I didn't construct due to the expense of materials. Since I've been scavenging around a lot as of late, I now have the materials to construct one, and I know there's a few thermal vents dotted around the shallows. It's reliable, safe, and it should suffice for now. The issue is getting the power from the closest vent- which is about fifty meters away- to the base, but I can easily assemble some cabling reels. The bigger issue is getting into the vent to build the reactor without being fried. I need to get the power plant relatively close to the bottom of the vent to get the most power, but I need it to be far enough away that the power plant doesn't overheat and break. I can't use my seamoth, as it's too large to fit into the vent's opening. I guess I'll have to brave the heat. Well, at least I won't have to worry about wrapping up warm, eh?

**Log Entry – Day 48**

Well, I've done some preliminary scouting of the heat vent where I plan to build my reactor, and I've worked out a plan to get this done. The heat vent is actually in the centre of a surprisingly spacious underwater cave, which features several rock "bridges", as well as a fair amount of clearance around the geothermal spout. My plan is to wait for the vent to erupt, quickly swim down into the cave, and off to the side, and construct the thermal reactor upon one of the rock bridges. Once there, I'll plug in a length of cable, and begin fixing the cabling to the cave walls with some simple fixtures. All I need is a strip of flat metal with a bend in the middle, and two holes on either side to sink a bolt through. I spent a good deal of time during my daily lunch break kitbashing a "nailgun" blueprint into existence. Well, technically it's a stake-gun, since it's designed to embed six inch metal rods into solid stone, but who gives a damn? I made the gorram thing, it's a nailgun!

Anyway, I'll continue to affix the cable to the cave walls until I reach the ceiling, and then I'll wait for another gap in the geyser. I'll then bring the cable through the hole, and clamp it onto the lip of the cave mouth. I've figured out that I can only fit enough cable onto a single reel to reach that point, while still being able to carry both the reel, my tools, and the raw materials I'm going to construct the thermal reactor with. That's why I'll leave my seamoth on the seabed with the rest of the reels in the storage compartment. I'll also duck up to the submersible to get a breath of air every once in a while. If I really need air, I'm considering setting up a floating air pump on the surface, and linking some pipe down into the cave so I can refill my tank without having to brave the geyser. This will also come in handy if I ever have to do repairs to the reactor or the cabling, and I don't have my seamoth handy for whatever reason. The pump is solar powered, and it's rather simple in operation, so it won't need to rely on my seabase for power, and it won't require constant maintenance like some of my other gear. Speaking of which, I found that my gravtrap had some holes in it courtesy of a stalker that had carried it off. Fortunately, I'm now fully reliant on my fish tank for my supply of meat, so it's not all that bad. The device was a write-off, but I needed a new plant pot, and a hollowed-out shell works surprisingly well for that purpose. I'm currently growing some more potatoes in it.

Dinner tonight is three baked potatoes and a peeper that I plucked from the tank this morning. I've only got three nutrient blocks left, and I'm saving them for a special occasion. What I wouldn't give for a synthburger and fries right now…

**Log Entry – Day 49**

Well, the thermal reactor is up and running, and my base now has a consistent supply of power. The plan didn't go off without a hitch, however, which is why I'm now got burn gel plastered all over my left shin, and about three layers of medicated gauze wrap covering my right palm.

So, to start with, things went fine. I managed to get into the cave without a problem, and I had the thermal reactor set up and operational with the press of a button. I ended up abandoning the pump plan, since the ocean was particularly choppy today, and I did _not_ need concussion from a metal pipe whacking me in the head. Instead, I brought a spare air tank, and regularly ducked up to my Seamoth for a quick breather. I managed to get halfway up the wall before I hit my first problem.

My nail-gun isn't _really_ a original design. Before I left aboard the _Aurora_, I downloaded a license and a data file for a similar tool. I was planning on doing some abseiling on the colony world Primus Alpha, which is known for having breathtaking mountain views, and some really nice cliffs. Unfortunately, Captain Hollister decided to cancel shore leave after First Officer Keen came down with a nasty case of the Cardassian splinterpox. However, I still had the blueprints for the stake…goddammit…_nail_ _gun_…urgh…I was going to use to anchor my ropes into the cliff face, and all I needed to do was add a waterproof casing, some modifications to the power settings, and alter the shape of the stakes slightly. Anyway, I guess whoever is listening to this log in the future can imagine how powerful the gun needs to be to drive a six inch piece of titanium into solid stone. Now, usually there's a safety mechanism that prevents the stake from shooting pieces of metal through the user. Some sort of biosensor integrated into the casing. Unfortunately for me, I removed the original casing from the design, so that it could function underwater. Guess what happened when I loaded a bolt into the gun and forgot to put the safety on.

Fortunately, I brough a medkit with me, and fortunately I had my hand away from the rock wall. Unfortunately, I have a hole through my palm, which could easily get infected, and I don't have the tools to regenerate a ten centimeter hole in my hand. Hopefully the _Aurora_'s computer has the plans for some of the equipment in the ship's medbay stored away. Actually, I hope the damn thing is still in one piece. I would try to raid the _Aurora_'s thirty-bed hospital for the supplies and equipment I need…but it was in the bow section, and is probably scattered across the entire ocean by now. Searching for anything that might still be usable would be both a waste of time, and pretty damn futile, considering the size and magnitude of the _Aurora_'s detonation.

Enough about that though, I was recounting my day's troubles, wasn't I? So, after removing the stake and patching the wound, I finished securing the cabling inside the cave. I was ready to swim up through the hole in the ceiling of the vent when my PDA informed me of a oxygen warning. I'd been swimming up to my seamoth for air pretty regularly earlier in the mission, but I'd completely forgotten to do so since getting injured. My auxiliary tank was almost depleted, and my main tank had run dry a while ago. Without thinking, I kicked my feed as hard as I could, dropping the cable as I did so. I was almost in the clear when the vent erupted, sending a geyser of boiling water straight towards me. I had little time to react, and my left leg was partially caught in the blast. I screamed in agony as I frantically clawed my way towards my submersible. My air tank fully depleted just as I got the hatch open. By the time the water had been pumped from the cabin, my lungs were screaming for air, and my leg was burning with pain. I hadn't felt pain like this before, not even when I got bitten by that Stalker on day eight.

I pawed around the side of the seat for the emergency medical kit, my fingers clawing at the release clasps. Pulling the carry case out, I popped the lid, and pulled out a tube of burn gel. I upended the tube, and squeezed the entire contents onto my hand. My survival suit's leg tore open easily, and I got a good look at the damage. The skin on my thigh was hanging loose, the surface blistered and torn. Areas of it were leaking clear fluid, but there was little blood. Gritting my teeth, I gently prodded the skin near the very edge of the affected area. It stung, but not as much as I would have thought. Then, I applied the burn gel. There was no immediate effect, but I did feel a little less pain. After spreading the gel around evenly, covering my entire leg, I pulled out a reel of bandaging from the medical kit. Wrapping my leg took some time, during which the pain began to ebb, until it was nothing more than a dull throbbing. I sat in the seamoth for a while, before packing away the medkit, and flooding the cockpit. I then swam down to finish securing the cable.

After that bit of drama, things went smoothly. I got the first reel secured at the mouth of the cave, and connected up the second reel. From there, I performed the arduous task of threading the cable back to my seabase. With my task complete, I have secured a stable and consistent source of power. I'm going to take the next week off before I begin working again. In that time, I'm going to try and figure out how I'm going to get the _Aurora_'s main computer operational again. I guess there's no rest for the wicked. Robinson out.

**A/N: So, yeah, I guess I've been putting off my writing for a while. Sorry about the lack of progress, but you have to remember that I'm not exactly keeping to any arbitrary schedule with this fic. I've also been focusing on my writing for Library of the Damned, so I guess I don't really have a solid excuse for not posting anything for the last little while. I hope everyone is staying safe during the pandemic, and I wish you all the best in these trying times. With the way things are going, I might not update until next year, but I hope I can push out another chapter before the end of 2020. Again, all the best, and stay safe!**


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